Shopping bag



Dec. 18, 1928.

J. R. GIBSON ET AL SHOPPING BAG Filed Dec. 6, 1926 nuemto'o I QcXiOPb Patented Dec. 18, 1928.'

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES RALPH GIBSON, OI BROOKLYN, AND TRUE M. AVERY, OF GLENS FALLS NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO UNION BAG AND PAPER CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHOPPING BAG.

Application filed December 6, 1926. Serial No. 152,986.

The present invention relates to improvements 1n so called shopping bags and similar articles of the class having cords or the like strung thereon to sustain the load 5 contained in the bag and to provide handles by which the ba may be conveniently carrled, and the rlmary object of the invention is to provlde a novel and improved bag of this class which not only can be manufactured with facility thereby enabling it to be sold inexpensively but which can be opened quickly and with facility, which is able to effectively sustain the weight of a relatively heavy load in the bag without straining or tearing the paper or other material composing the ba and which afl'ords other advantages over bags of this general class as heretofore used or proposed.

To these and other ends, the invention 2 consists infcertain improvements and combinations and arrangements of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being set forth particularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shopping bag made in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is an edge view of the bag illustrated in Figure 1, showing the bag in folded or collapsed form.

Figure 3 is a view of the bottom of the bag showing the manner of attaching the cords thereto, and

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view through the stapled end of one of the cords.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in different views.

The present invention is a plicable generally to bags or similar artic es wherein it is desirable to adapt the same to the carrying of relatively heavy loads therein without danger of straining or tearing the paper or other material composing the bag, or wherein it is desirable to employ handles on the bags to facilitate the carrying thereof. The invention is particularly a plicable to shopping bags of the kind used by shoppers so for the. carrying of articles of various kinds wherein the carying handles and also the load-sustaining means are formed of cords which are strung therethrough, these cords, according to the present'invention, being applicable to the bag in a novel and improved manner whereby the advantages hereinbefore referred to and more particularly set forth in detail hereinafter, are attained.

While the referred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing and will be hereinafter described in detail, it is to be understood that the in vention is not restricted to this construction as equivalents thereof within the scope of the claims are contemplated.

In the present instance 1 designates the bag and 2 and 3 designate the cords which provide the carrying handles and sustain the load of the articles, placed in the bag.

The bag may be composed of any suitable flexible material, relatively tough paper being generally preferable, and the bag may be of any type although the invention is preferably applied to a bag having a flat bottom which is foldable substantially flatwise against the cords at a side of the bag so that the bags may be conveniently packed or stored compactly before sale or use. The bag shown in the present instance is of the well known type having opposed side walls which are foldable flatwise against one another and a fiat bottom 4 which is foldable toward one or the other of the sides of the bag, along the line 5. After the bag has been made and prior to its use, the opposite sides of the bag will be collapsed and the bottom 4 will be folded against the cords at one of the bag sides as shown in Figure 2. The bag may be opened in the manner usual with bags of this type, the opposite sides of the bag being then relatively separated or spread apart and the bottom'4 assuming a position where itextends horizontally or substantially so and closing the lower end of the bag, as is usual in bags of the well known flat bottom type. The handles 6 and 7, according to the present invention, are formed of the two cords 2 and 3 respectively. These cords may be and preferably are of equal length, and they are doubled at points midway of their ends to form loops which constitute the respective handles.

The ends of the cord 2 are threaded through holes 8 formed in the respective side of the bag near its upper edge or month, the ends of this cord are passed downwardly inside of the bag and are then passed outwardly through holes 9 to the exterior of the bag, the ends of said cord then passing around the corner or edge 10 of the bag bottom and then across the under side of the bag bottom 4,- to a point at or adjacent to the opposite bottom edge ll of the bag at which point the ends of the eordsil are innnovably fixed to the bag bottom. Preferably these cord ends are thus fixed by driving staples 12 into or through the bag bottom and clenching them, as shown in Figure 4, so that the staples iinmorably grip and hold the cord end. Similarly the cord 3 the intermediate portion of which is looped or doubled to form the handles 7 is passed through holes 8 and 9 in its respective side of the bag which correspond in position and arrangement with the the holes 8 and t) for the cord 2, and the ends of the cord 3 which pass to the outside of the bag through the lower openings 9 extend around the corner ll which joins the bag bottom 4 to that side of. the bag, the ends of this cord thence passing across the under side of the bag bottom 4 to points at or near the opposite corner It) of the bag bottom at which points the ends of the cords 3 are immovably fixed to the bag bottom as by staples 12. The end portions of the cords preferably across the under side of the bag bottom on lines spaced at opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the bag bottom so that the cords will receive substantially the full weight of the load in the bag, and those portions of the cords are retained substantially in such positions by the fixing thereof by the staples. By locating the staples relatively close to the edges 10 and 11 of the bag bottom, the staples may be driven not only through the bag bottom but also through the portion of the side wall of the bag adjacent to the corner or edge 10 or 11 as is shown in the drawings, the stapling being performed while the bag bottom and respective bag side are folded along the edge 10 or 11. The fixing of the cords to the bag may thus be performed quickly and with facility by a simple stapling operation.

Prior to use, the bottoms of the bags are folded against the cords at a side thereof, to enable them to be stacked or bundled conveniently. The bags, however, when ready for use. may be opened quickly and easily, in the manner usual with bags of the flat bot ,tom type, without interference from either of the cords. To accomplish this result, the lower openings 9 and 9 throu h which the cords pass from the inside to the outside of the bag are located below the height reached by the bottom edge 10 or 11 when the bag bottom is in folded position, and preferably these lower openings or holes are located at a level near or slightl above the line 5 on which the bag bottom olds, and the cords prevent folding of the bag bottom tightly against the body of the bag. By leading the cords from the interior of the bag to the bag bottom through holes located at such a level, the outward swing of the edge 10 or 11, which takes place incident to the opening of the bag is not resisted or otherwise interfered with b the cords, or either of them, as the cords bend or double over these edges of the bag and move substantially in unison therewith during the bag opening operation. Moreover, by placing the lower holes 01' openings 9 and 9 in close proximity to the line of fold 5, it is only necessary for the cords to bend during the swing of the bag bottom from its folded position into substantially horizontal position, as no appreciable pull is imposed upon the cords during this operation and such bending of the cords as occurs taking place about points approximately coincident with the line on which the bottom swings.

\Vhen the bag is in use, the weight of the load therein is effectively sustained by the cords, thus relieving the paper or other material composing the bag of undue strain. By extending the ends of each cord around one bottom edge, across the bag bottom and fixing the cord ends at or adjacent to the opposite bottom edge, the two cords present four sections of cord which extend beneath the bottom and hence are in position to receive 'and sustain the weight of the load in the bag. These four cord sections are distributed or spaced more. or less in a direction longitudinally of the bag bottom and in consequence the load will be well distributed among these cord sections thus minimizing tendency of the cords to cut through the bag bottom. Moreover, this arrangement of the cords causes them to pull crosswise in opposite directions across the bottom of the bag, each bottom corner or edge 10 or 11 of the bag bottom producing a snubbing effect upon the respective cord which extends around it, with the result that the cords have a tendency to distend the bottom of the bag and to hold it rigid under the action of the load in the bag.

The placing of the holes or apertures t) and 9 below the highest point of contact of the bottom with the cords which in turn rest against one or the other of the sides of the bag when the bottom is folded not only enables the bag to be opened easily and in the manner usual with bags of the flat bottom type, but it also brings these holes or openings to such low points on the. bag that they will be below printing as usually provided on bags, and in fact; such locations of the holes or apertures enables practically the entire surface of each side of the bag to be utilized as a printed surface, which is highly desirable.

By providing two cords to form the handles and to sustain the load in the bag and donbling these cords in the middle to form the handles and threading the ends of the cords through the respective pairs of holes in the sides of the bag and extending the cords across the bag bottom and fixing them thereto substantially in the manner herein before described, the manufacture of the bags is simplified and facilitated, as the short lengths of the cord to be threaded through the openings enables this threading operation. to be performed easily and quickly, and the ends of the cords may be secured by a simple stapling operation which can be performed quickly and inexpensively. Moreover the described arrangement of the cords and the manner of attaching their ends to the bag bottom enables either handle to be utilized as a support by which the bag maybe held while articles are being placed therein without pulling such cord out of operative position relatively to the bag,

vas the cords are individually fixed to the bag bottom, and moreover, the bag bottom may unfold without interference from the cords although they may be tensioned or substantially without slack. The stapling can be effected readily while the bag bottom and the respective side of the bag adjacent to the edge 10 or 11 are in folded relation, as is shown for example 'in Fi ure 2, the staples then passing through the bag bottom and the adjacent portion of the bag side and being secured by the resulting double thickness of the paper or material composing the bag, thus avoiding the expense of adding reinforcements to the bag to anchor the staples.

We claim as our invention 1. A bag of the class described having a flat bottom foldable along a line toward a side thereof, and load sustaining cord means arranged beneath the bag bottom and extending therefrom to the inside of the bag through said side of the bag at such a level with respect to said line of fold as to permit the bag bottom to unfold substantially without pulling said cord means while tensioned.

2. A bag of the class described having a flat bottom foldable along a line toward a side thereof, and load sustaining cord means arranged beneath the bag bottom and extending upwardly therefromthrough the side of the bag to the inside thereof at a level adjacent to said line of fold. and below the highest point of the folded bag-bottom.

3. A bag of the class described having a fiat bottom foldable along a line toward a side thereof, and cord means forming carrying handles and extending beneath the bag bottom to sustain a load in the bag, said cord means passing exteriorly around the edges of the bag bottom and thence through the sides of the bag at.a level above and adjacent to said line of fold between the bag bottom and sides.

4. A shopping bag having a substantially flat. bottom, and a pair of handle forming and load sustaining cords, each cord being doubled intermediately to form a carrying handle at the respective side of the bag and having its ends extended exteriorly around the adjacent edge and loosely beneath the bottom and fixed to the bottom toward the tcriorly around the corner formed between the respective side of the bag and the bag bottom and extended loosely across and beneath the bag bottom and fixed thereto toward its opposite corner.

7. A shopping bag of the class having 'a substantially fiat bottom foldably related. to the sides thereof, and a pair of cords doubled intermediately and forming carrying handies for the respective sides of the bag, the

ends of each cord beingextended around the folded edge which joins the respective side of the bag with the bottom thereof and thence across the bottom to its opposite folded edge, and staple-means extending through said opposite folded edge of the bag bottom and the res ective side thereof and securing the ends 0 the respective cord.

8. A bag of the class described having a flat bottom foldable toward a side of the body thereof, and cord means forming carryingihandles and having portions extending exteriorlyaround the edges of the bag bottom and beneath the latter to sustain a load in the bag,,the portions of the cord means immediately above the edges of the bag bottom extending upwardly and thence inwardly through the respective sides of the bag body at points above its line of fold with the bag ottom but below the highest point of the folded bottom and being arranged outside of the bag in a position where said cord means will be interposed and will prevent contact between the bag bottom and the bag body when the bag bottom is folded toward the body.

9. A shopping bag having a bottom foldable along a line toward a side thereof, and cord means forming carrying handles and extending beneath and exteriorly around the opposite side edges of the bag bottom to sustain the weight of a load in the bag, said cord means extending upwardly from the outside to the inside of the bag through openings in the sides thereof which are 10- eated at a level adjacent to said line of fold of the bag bottom and between said line of fold and the uppermost edge of. the bottom when the latter is folded toward :1 side of the bag. 10

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

JAMES RALPH GIBSON. TRUE M. AVERY. 

